The misinformation campaign certainly had an effect, most visible during August's town hall meetings. But while support for health care reform dropped in August, it rebounded in September, according to a new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The poll found the increase in support came primarily from independents and Republicans changing their minds in favor of health care reform.

Americans, it seems, began to
remember what we've known all along: we're the ones who are suffering under our current profit-driven system, and we're the ones who will benefit from health care that's more affordable and more accessible.

Many people now believe that the reasons widely given for opposing reform are trumped-up: 57 percent of the public and 56 percent of independents believe
that "the GOP is opposing reform plans more for political reasons than
because they think reform will be bad for the country." And they're
aware that the mainstream media has confused the issue by tending to cover "politics and
controversies" (50 percent of respondents) instead of the real details
of "how policy reforms affect your own family" (8 percent).

Americans know that having the world's most expensive health care system directly affects their own lives: more than half of Americans have put off health care in the last year because of cost.

Still, while we know that reform is in our best interest, we also realize that it has to be
the right kind: respondents reported being both "hopeful" (68 percent)
and "anxious" (50 percent) about the currently proposed legislation, which is falling far short of the "Medicare for All" system that a majority of Americans support.

Other findings:

One third of Americans (33 percent) say they or someone in their
household has had problems paying medical bills over the past year.
That is up nine percentage points from August and represents the
highest level this measure has reached in nearly a year.

Americans have coped with high health care costs by relying on home remedies or over the counter drugs instead of seeing a
doctor (44 percent), skipping dental care or other checkups (35 percent), or skipping a
recommended medical test or treatment (28 percent).

The
component of reform that draws among the strongest support across the political
spectrum is requiring that health insurance companies cover anyone who
applies, even if they are sick or have a pre-existing condition.
Overall, 8 in 10 people support that idea, including 67 percent of
Republicans, 80 percent of independents and 88 percent of Democrats.

When
it comes to paying for reform, two ideas now under discussion among
policymakers garner initial majority support. Fifty-seven percent of
the public say they would support "having health insurance companies
pay a fee based on how much business they have" and 59 percent would
support "having health insurance companies pay a tax for offering very
expensive policies."

Large majorities of Americans support health care reform when told it would: improve health care for our children and grandchildren (77 percent); provide financial help to buy health insurance to those who need it (74 percent); help ensure the long-term financial health of Medicare (69 percent); or fulfill a moral obligation by ensuring that people don’t have to go
without needed health care just because they can’t afford it (68 percent).